When Chen Zhekun, who claimed to be the "Imperial Cossack", Si Yuyu and his group rode a horse away from Guli River Wei and headed west. From north to south, both the military and civilians seized this last opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery of late spring.

Outings, in the early years, for the people of the Ming Dynasty, they often went to the green mountains and green rivers in the suburbs. But now this habit has changed a long time ago. When Zhu Guoqiang decided to return to Nanjing, he personally formulated the Nandu construction plan, he fully learned from the modern urban planning concept and planned many parks.

Among the numerous parks in Nanjing, the Royal Zoo is very popular among people. After all, compared with the scenery in other parks, there are many more animals in this zoo, and there are many rare animals from all over the country.

The Royal Zoo is located on the banks of the Qinhuai River in the south of the city. The area was once the outer city manor of several honorary ministers. It was destroyed by the war when Jiannu invaded. With the reconstruction of Nandu, it was built into a park with the pond rockery of the old manor. Later, it became a zoo, which specializes in raising tigers, bears, leopards, elephants and other animals. With the Ming Dynasty merchant ships, various overseas beasts were also sent to the zoo. The variety of rare beasts attracted many tourists. There were endless tourists in the zoo every day. But in spring, this is the first choice for outings for many people.

Unlike other parks, tourists in zoos are often mobilized by the whole family, and adults and children gather together. Among the endless stream of tourists, there are inevitably a few tourists coming alone, but in the crowd, few people notice their existence.

Compared with the crowds of people in front of fierce beast cages such as Tiger Mountain and Lion Garden, animals like cows and horses are difficult to attract the attention of others. After all, who has never seen a cow or a horse in this year?

But today, there was a young man who looked like a scholar standing in front of the cow pen. He stared at the cow in the pen with extremely focused eyes and murmured.

"Can this Indian tummy cattle be the "Linghu" in the Shanhai Jing..."

He was talking about this, and he was speaking out again.

"Another three hundred miles east, it is called Yangshan. There are many jades on it and many gold and copper on it. There are beasts. Its shape is like a cow and its tail, its neck and kidneys are like Qu, its name is Linghu. Its voice is self-talking, and its food is already crazy..."

The passage he recited was translated into vernacular language: three hundred miles further east, there is Yangshan Mountain, with rich jade on the mountain and rich gold and copper at the foot of the mountain. There is a wild beast in the mountain, shaped like an ordinary cow with a red tail, a sarcoma on its neck, like a bucket, and its name is Linghu. The call it makes is the pronunciation of its own name. People can cure madness by eating its meat.

The "tumored cattle" in front of him were tributed by the vassal states in India. They were named because there was a muscle tissue raised on the part of the armor and looked like a tumor. In fact, there was such cattle in China, and there was "tumored cattle" in Yunnan, which was called "pimored cattle" in ancient times, but it had never been introduced to the mainland, so it was rarely known.

For Liang Zhi, he only saw the "Kukaku" at the Royal Zoo. He liked to read books on the strange genius and naturally linked the "Kukaku" with the strange beasts in the Shanhai Jing.

"This little brother also thinks that this "Tianzhu Tumor Cow" looks like a "Lin Hu".

Suddenly, someone interrupted.

"In fact, many animals in this garden can find their true colors in the mountains and seas. For example, there is a bird in the "Elephant Snake" on Yangshan with "Linghu". It looks like a red pheasant, and its five-colored pheasant is a male and female. It looks like a snake and a bird. Look at the long-tailed pheasant in the bird garden. Its tail feathers are several feet long and black and white rings are connected, and does it look like a snake?"

After hearing what he said, Liang Zhi immediately looked like a pheasant in his mind, and he nodded and praised.

"There is also the wildebeest over there. If you compare the description of "sophisticated essence" in the Shanhai Jing, it looks like a cow and a pony tail, but it is just like a wildebeest."

"But wildebeests were born in black African countries. When did the ancients go to black countries?"

Liang Zhi's rhetoric question was exchanged for the other party's laughter.

"How could the ancients not go to the black country?"

How can't you go!

A rhetorical question like thunder exploded in Liang Zhi's mind. In addition to being surprised, he could only hear the middle-aged man say.

"Although the Shanhai Jing is a pre-Qin novel book, many of the rare beasts in it have been cited and compared by the world in the past thousands of years. But why are there still some rare beasts never discovered? It is not that they are not found, but because they are not in China, like the "essence" that looks like a cow and a pony tail. It is not that it is this wildebeest. If there were not a fleet of ships to trade overseas and merchants to pay tribute to overseas strange beasts, how could we see wildebeests? I recognized this the "essence" in the Shanhai Jing."

Liang Zhi asked back when the other party said that.

"Since you and I need to rely on maritime merchants to pay tribute to know where the "sophisticated essence" is, how did the ancient people of the pre-Qin Dynasty know their existence?"

"Because the ancients have been there!"

The ancients have been there!

The ancients of the pre-Qin period visited the African black country!

“Have they been there?”

"If they haven't been there, how can they know that there is a "sophistication" in the world that looks like a cow and a ponytail?"

Between the questions and answers, although the other party’s rhetorical question seemed to have not given an answer, in fact, it was making the other party think.

yes!

If the ancients had not been to the Black Kingdom, how could they know that there were wildebeests in the world?

But if the ancients had been to the black country, then why did the ancients ignore it later?

Such questions were rolling in Liang Zhi's heart, and new questions continued to surge in his heart. As these problems emerged, he suddenly asked back.

"So, the foreign countries in the Shanhai Jing also exist?"

"It exists naturally, and it may be just a little exaggeration. For example, the Black-Tooth Country, the Japanese and Nanyang have the habit of dyeing black teeth."

Afterwards, they talked for a long time, from the ancient and modern comparisons of foreign beasts in the Shanhai Jing, and then talked about foreign countries. They even looked for various animals in the zoo from time to time to correspond to what they said in the Shanhai Jing.

"Liang Zhi, a member of Liang Zhi, a student in Fan County, Xiashan, is now studying in the Imperial College. Have you not asked a friend for his surname?"

Looking at the young man in front of him who seemed to be one or two years younger than him, Liang Zhi bowed.

"I am Pu Songling, Zichuan, Jinan Prefecture. This time I went to Beijing to apply for the Imperial College. I never thought I would recognize my brother. I am really lucky to have three lives!"

"Oh, this is a coincidence. I never thought that you and I were actually fellow villagers. Let's go, today you and I will have a good gathering..."

Liang Zhi, who was still unsatisfied, pulled Pu Songling and said.

"Let's go, let's find a place, let's talk together and go..."
Chapter completed!